Italian Premier Mario Draghi is presenting a 222.1 billion euro ($268.6 billion) coronavirus recovery plan to Parliament on Monday, aiming to not only bounce back from the pandemic but enact “epochal” reforms to address structural problems that long predated COVID-19, the Associated Press reported.
Read more
Prime Minister Mario Draghi is seeking to restart Italy’s economy through a plan based on about 200 billion euros ($241 billion) of European Union funding, with most of the cash allocated to digitalization and transitioning to green technologies, according to a draft seen by Bloomberg.
Bond sales by two of Europe’s most indebted nations have been inundated by demand as an economic recovery begins to lift yields from historically low levels, Bloomberg News reported. Italy received more than 64 billion euros ($76 billion) of bids for its first new 50-year bond in almost five years via banks on Wednesday. That’s more than three times the previous record. The nation is also selling debt maturing in 2028. Meanwhile, Portugal is bringing to market a 10-year security, racking up more than 30 billion euros of orders from investors.
Read more
France and Italy are set to extend virus restrictions as Europe struggles to contain a sharp increase in infections due to new variants, Bloomberg News reported. The resurgence in the outbreak is a setback for governments, whose plans to get life back to normal and revive their economies have already been stymied by a slow vaccine rollout across the European Union. The French virus spike has been particularly bad, and Germany and Spain last week imposed border restrictions to travelers coming from the country. French President Emmanuel Macron is due to address the nation at 8 p.m.
Italy may ask state-owned asset manager AMCO to handle a mounting pile of government-backed soured loans issued to support businesses during the pandemic, Bloomberg News reported. The government guaranteed almost 150 billion euros ($179 billion) of bank loans to small and medium-sized companies through a fund managed by Mediocredito Centrale SpA, a state development bank which is indirectly owned by the finance ministry.
Read more
Telecom Italia and unions agreed on Monday to cut up to 1,300 jobs in Italy this year through a voluntary scheme, two union sources said, as the country’s biggest phone group strives to revamp its business in the COVID-19 crisis, Reuters reported. The cuts would amount to around 3% of TIM’s 42,600 employees in Italy and be implemented through an early retirement scheme. In addition, TIM and unions have agreed a potential further 178 jobs cuts to be implemented by the end of 2023 through a separate voluntary layoff scheme, the sources said.
Ferry operator Moby SpA is suing a number of bondholders including Sound Point Capital Management in a New York court, alleging they made unlawful attempts to take control of the firm in a debt dispute, Reuters reported. Moby, which runs routes between the Italian mainland and islands such as Sardinia, says a bondholder group which also includes BlueBay Asset Management, and Cheyne Capital Management, attempted an “egregious tortious interference” to “unlawfully” take control of the company, according to documents filed on February 22. It’s now seeking damages from the funds.
Read more
Italy’s new prime minister, Mario Draghi, appealed on Wednesday for unity and sacrifice as the country pushes forward with vaccinations and seeks to seize on a $240 billion European relief package to overhaul the economy and address persistent inequalities, the New York Times reported. In his first speech as head of government, Mr. Draghi addressed the Italian Senate for an hour through a white mask before a confidence vote for a broad unity government that he is assured to win.
Mario Draghi, the former head of the European Central Bank, has been named Italian prime minister after persuading nearly all of the country’s squabbling parties to support his government, raising hopes that he can succeed where many others have failed: in leading Italy out of its deep economic malaise, the Wall Street Journal reported. Italy’s head of state, President Sergio Mattarella, appointed Mr. Draghi and his proposed ministers late Friday, ahead of a formal swearing-in to be held the following day and a parliamentary vote of confidence early next week. Mr.
The Bank of Italy’s Daniele Franco is emerging as a possible candidate to take over as the country’s next finance minister, as the race intensifies over who will be premier-designate Mario Draghi’s pick to start reviving the staggering economy, Bloomberg News reported. Franco, director-general at the central bank, is one name that keeps popping up in reference to the Treasury job as Draghi draws up the list of names for his cabinet, which may be revealed later this week, according to officials who asked not to be named discussing confidential talks.
Read more